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Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Disconnect

Review by Pamela Zoslov

What did the Internet ever do to the
filmmakers behind DISCONNECT, a
cautionary tale about modern computer technology? The independently made film
is thematically reminiscent of antique propaganda flicks
like REEFER MADNESS,
except that the perils it warns against are smartphones, PCs and
iPads rather than marijuana. In the mode of Paul Haggis' CRASH,
DISCONNECT is composed of
intertwined stories about the emotional alienation produced by our
techno-crazy society. Evidently the benefits of computers –
information, knowledge, entertainment, the review you are
reading – mean nothing in the face of the Web's many scary dangers.

One story centers
on the Boyd family, headed by busy lawyer Rich (Jason Bateman) and
wife Lydia (Hope Davis). Rich can't tear himself away from his cell
phone long enough to notice that his 15-year-old son Ben (Jonah Bobo)
is friendless and desperately lonely. Two of Ben's classmates, who
are given to such malicious pranks as pissing in a sports-drink
bottle and replacing it in a store cooler, target geeky Ben for
cyber-bullying. The boys, Jason and Frye (Colin Ford and Avian
Bernstein) create a fictional girl's Facebook profile and engage Ben
in a flirtation that escalates dangerously. In a development ripped
from the headlines, an embarrassing photo goes viral, with
predictably tragic results. Writer Andrew Stern and director Henry
Alex Rubin get the high school milieu and the kids' motivations just
right. The adolescent pranksters, not “bad” kids individually, are egged
on by each other's casual cruelty. When Jason displays the occasional
hint of conscience, Frye accuses him of being “in love” with
victim Ben. Interestingly, Jason later explores his troubled
relationship with his ex-cop dad Mike (Frank Grillo) by connecting
online with Ben's aggrieved dad, Rich.

The other stories
are less persuasive. A local TV news reporter, Nina (Andrea
Riseborough) logs on to a live sex chat site and initiates a
conversation with Kyle (Max Thierot), a young man who masturbates
online for paying clients. A game but aimless young man with Brad
Pitt looks, Kyle lives in a messy house with other teen sex-chat
workers, presided over by the vaguely sinister Harvey (fashion
designer Marc Jacobs, in his film acting debut). Ambitious Nina
persuades Kyle to tell his story on camera, with his identity
(barely!) concealed. The story propels Nina to national fame but also
brings the unfriendly scrutiny of the FBI. The film explores Nina's
ambiguous and vaguely sexual interest in the unstable Kyle and
alludes to the class divide between them. Is Nina, who betrays Kyle,
actually more exploitative than cyber-pimp Harvey? (With Harvey, Kyle
and his cohorts at least get expensive running shoes and other gifts
from grateful clients.) The question is not fully addressed before
the story collapses into a bout of violence no more believable than
the idea of a teen cyber-porn rooming house.

A
third story focuses on Cindy and Derek (Paula Patton and Alexander
Skarsgard), a couple who have recently buried their baby son. Derek,
an ex-Marine, has dealt with his grief by burying himself in work,
leaving Cindy to seek solace in an online support group. Derek,
meanwhile, has his own computer dependency, spending money on online
poker in his lonely hotel room while traveling for business. Cindy
and Derek's credit card information is stolen, and they consult
Internet security expert Mike Dixon (the cyber-bully's dad). In the
real world, identity theft is prosecuted by authorities – in
Hollywood movies, for some reason, the only recourse is for victims
to physically pursue and apprehend the fraudsters (see Identity
Thief). The police, oddly, are
said to be “too busy.” Derek and Cindy hit the highway to track
down the suspected identity thief. Derek, an Afghanistan war veteran,
reverts to combat mode, handgun in tow. His inadvisable plan has a
stimulating effect on the couple's troubled marriage. Pumped with
adrenaline, Derek feels more alive, and Cindy is turned on by her
husband's reversion to warrior mode. Never mind that in real life,
Derek's vigilante actions would earn him serious prison time.

Having built these
detailed stories, the film finds itself with nowhere to go except to
have characters beat each other up. That's too bad, because unlike
many “message” films, it's highly watchable and technically accomplished. The actors
are excellent, even if the script at times fails to give them
believable things to say and do. Ken Seng's cinematography is
appropriately edgy, and the depiction of online chats is cleverly done,
juxtaposing the text with the characters' reacting faces. These
qualities converge nicely in the school-bullying tale, a wrenching and
emotionally accurate story that deserves its own feature film. 2 and 3/4 out of 4 stars.